On Wednesday, the House passed HB267 in a 63-39 vote that was largely along party lines (six Democrats voted in favor, no Republicans voted against). As a local bill, it was not subject to consideration by the Governor and so passed into law after clearing the Senate and House.
The bill initially concerned only the deannexation of a parcel of property from the Town of Holly Springs in Wake County; in late June it was amended in the Senate to include language banning Leland from voluntary annexations.
The language that suspends the annexation of territory for the town was pulled directly from earlier legislation, Senate Bill 79, filed in February by Brunswick County State Senator Bill Rabon. The suspension doesn’t include a sunset date so it’s effectively less of a moratorium and more of a permanent ban.
HB267 comes on the heels of other legislation over the last two years which aimed at curbing Leland’s growth.
Last year, Rabon filed SB911, which imposed a two-year moratorium on annexation. The bill, which passed in June 2022, also aimed to prevent Leland from leveraging water and sewer services to push property owners in the unincorporated county towards requesting annexation into the town. The town can now provide those services through H2GO, the sanitary district that merged with Leland after years of legal battles.
Related: Sen. Rabon files bill that would strip Leland of annexation authority
Even earlier, in 2021, Rep. Frank Iler filed House Bill 831, which did not specifically name Leland, but effectively targeted the town’s relationship with H2GO and the possibility that it could leverage H2GO service to entice property owners into annexation. Iler confirmed to WHQR that the bill was intended to curtail Leland’s expansion and that the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners requested the measure — and later supported it with a resolution passed unanimously as part of the consent agenda during their May 17, 2021 meeting.
Leland's response
In a statement to WHQR, the town expressed disappointment with the most recent legislation.
“The Town of Leland is disappointed in the decision by the NC General Assembly to restrict the personal property rights of landowners by preventing them from voluntarily annexing into the Town. In recent years, landowners have voluntarily annexed into Leland to take advantage of the quantity, quality, and highly efficient level of service the Town provides. From excellent police and fire service, public utilities, street maintenance, and the quick turnaround for plan reviews and building inspections, landowners see the great value of being a part of Leland,” a town spokesperson wrote in a statement.
Several people affiliated with the Town of Leland, including councilmembers Veronica Carter and Bill McHugh, said they have not been told why the additional restrictions were deemed necessary. McHugh told WHQR that town officials had repeatedly asked for a meeting with state representatives to discuss the bill, but never were able to get one.
Carter and McHugh both noted that the bill won’t stop growth in Brunswick County. McHugh said the bill was unfair to Leland, and pointed out that growth outside of the town’s corporate limits will still burden the town’s taxpayers since people living in the unincorporated county still use the town’s parks and are still served by Leland police.
“We look forward to having the opportunity to discuss the reasons behind this decision with our state-level representatives,” a Leland spokesperson said in a statement.
Rabon’s office did not respond to questions; last year, a representative from his office responded to questions about SB911 by saying the Senator’s schedule was too busy to provide comment.Annexation
Annexation reform laws passed a decade ago restricted involuntary annexations — that is, annexations initiated by a town or city — and made them much more difficult. Since then municipalities have largely pursued what’s called ‘voluntary annexation,’ which requires that every property owner in an annexed area sign a petition giving their approval.
When there are only a few property owners, or a single LLC, for a large property — as in the case of master-planned development, for example – the voluntary annexation process can allow towns to grow rapidly.
Existing state law says neighboring municipalities can annex property within three miles of their primary corporate limits as a “satellite annexation” — but not if there is another town or city that’s closer. The new law passed this week may leave some property owners in the greater Leland area that want to be part of a town without a viable option for doing so.
